Are prices still climbing or have they eased up a bit??? 43 43

[Stefan_W]

On 3/19/2023 at 8:35 AM, dikran said:

They have enough quality books to not need to resort to such nickel and dime strategies

They have tons of books in their auctions. The change that I would make on CL that is the highest priority in eyes is at this point they should run weekly auctions instead of these month long marathons. When I look through books at the start of an auction it often takes me a few sittings to get through them all, and I usually forget a lot of the stuff that was interesting to me as the weeks roll by and hundreds of other books come up.  Week long quick hit auctions, like what Heritage does, are far more engaging and easy to manage on my end. 

[MGsimba77]

On 3/19/2023 at 12:34 AM, mjoeyoung said:

I was wondering about a few sales where the price difference between the 9.8 and 9.6 was huge and what that might mean for the market.  For example:

X-Men #120 in 9.8 sells for $8600

X-Men #120 in 9.6 sells for $809

Census has 108 copies of the 9.8 and 347 for the 9.6.  10x multiple vs. about a 5x multiple in 2018.

Ultimate Fallout #4 9.8 Variant for $35755

Ultimate Fallout #4 9.6 Variant for $8250

173 = 9.8s and 242 = 9.6s.  Four times plus multiple now vs. 2x plus in 2021.

I'm just wondering if the multiples are going to stick if prices continue to decline.

Well if those multiples persist then I don't think it would be consistent with a market in correction or decline. In such case I'd imagine there would be eventual top down spillover on to other grades. Clearly enough people have concluded 9.8s to be in a league of their own for some time now but 10X seems excessive imo.

Generally If you're going to have an up market then some degree of increasing multiple between grades is almost inevitable. Maybe not 10X but it'll be some increase. I don't think a 10X multiple between 9.8 and 9.6 is sustainable but we saw very wide multiples persist in 2020 and 2021.

[MGsimba77]

On 3/19/2023 at 11:01 AM, drbanner said:

One advantage of placing tracking bids vs. using a watch feature on ComicLink is that once you place a bid on a book, you have a permanent record of that sale. Otherwise, you can't look up previous auction results...just like on ebay, ComicConnect, and most auction sites (Heritage being the exception).

I doubt tracking bids affect the final sales price of very many books at all, they have so many books and such a deep bench of bidders that the effect is likely negligible.

Bless the day Clink develops an easily searchable database of past auction results on the website! Not talking about the way they have it now where you have to scroll down a wall of auctioned slabs but something like a search engine specifically for that. It really would be most helpful! 

[Sweet Lou 14]

On 3/19/2023 at 12:16 PM, Stefan_W said:

They have tons of books in their auctions. The change that I would make on CL that is the highest priority in eyes is at this point they should run weekly auctions instead of these month long marathons. When I look through books at the start of an auction it often takes me a few sittings to get through them all, and I usually forget a lot of the stuff that was interesting to me as the weeks roll by and hundreds of other books come up.  Week long quick hit auctions, like what Heritage does, are far more engaging and easy to manage on my end. 

I understand the reasoning, but the flip side is a much greater operational cost, as well as increased costs to the buyers, because you're then shipping a lot more packages.

[Stefan_W]

On 3/19/2023 at 2:33 PM, Sweet Lou 14 said:

I understand the reasoning, but the flip side is a much greater operational cost, as well as increased costs to the buyers, because you're then shipping a lot more packages.

I'm not sure I agree. When you dont have enough to ship you just ask them to hold, so the amount in each shipment would be roughly the same as it is right now. 

[Sweet Lou 14]

On 3/19/2023 at 2:45 PM, Stefan_W said:

I'm not sure I agree. When you dont have enough to ship you just ask them to hold, so the amount in each shipment would be roughly the same as it is right now. 

What do you mean, "when you don't have enough to ship"?

Offering customers the option of holding books for later shipment is great -- but not all businesses do it (MyComicShop does not, and although I have heard Heritage does it, they certainly don't make it easy to request in their standard checkout process).  Those that do carry an additional logistical burden and an increased risk of human error.

I'm not saying any of this is impossible.  I'm just saying that the operational considerations of implementing any changes to the business at scale should not be dismissed or underestimated.

[Stefan_W]

On 3/19/2023 at 3:33 PM, Sweet Lou 14 said:

What do you mean, "when you don't have enough to ship"?

 

CL will hold books for you if you do not have enough to bother with shipping. 

[lou_fine]

On 3/16/2023 at 4:17 PM, batmiesta said:

Can someone explain why some sellers on ebay are asking over $1000 for a She Hulk #1 in 9.8, yet other sellers can't shift theirs when asking just over $400? That is just one example of many, baffles me. 

You do realize that "asking" in clearly not the same as "selling".  

You could ask $10 million dollars for your dump of a house and everybody would laugh, but ask $1.5 million and you'll have a line up down to the end of the block.  

Edited March 19, 2023 by lou_fine

[batmiesta]

On 3/19/2023 at 11:16 PM, lou_fine said:

You do realize that "asking" in clearly not the same as "selling".  

You could ask $10 million dollars for your dump of a house and everybody would laugh, but ask $1.5 million and you'll have a line up down to the end of the block.  

I would still laugh.

[mjoeyoung]

On 3/19/2023 at 11:27 AM, MGsimba77 said:

Clearly enough people have concluded 9.8s to be in a league of their own

That is what I'm wondering.  Is it possible that the new investors who came into the market recently only buy 9.8s?  That might make them somewhat immune to the ups and downs of the lower grades if these investors stick around.

[Microchip]

On 3/20/2023 at 10:42 AM, mjoeyoung said:

On 3/20/2023 at 4:27 AM, MGsimba77 said:

Clearly enough people have concluded 9.8s to be in a league of their own

That is what I'm wondering.  Is it possible that the new investors who came into the market recently only buy 9.8s?  That might make them somewhat immune to the ups and downs of the lower grades if these investors stick around.

Remember the only 'scarcity' in comics, is condition.   

[lou_fine]

On 3/19/2023 at 5:50 PM, Microchip said:

Remember the only 'scarcity' in comics, is condition.   

I totally and absolutely agree with you 100% when it comes to the books that CGC receives by the boxloads on a regular daily basis.    

Now, for the books which sells for double digit percentage multiples to unrestored condition guide even in raw low grade and/or restored condition, definitely not so much as it's much more like a      

Edited March 20, 2023 by lou_fine

[lou_fine]

On 3/17/2023 at 5:40 AM, buttock said:

I think it's more that they're the worst platform for selling. 

Try telling that now to the consignor who was able to get only $201K for his CGC 7.0 graded copy of Cap on CL when CC was able to fetch over $300K for their CGC 7.0 graded copy of Cap 1 the following week.      

[MGsimba77]

On 3/19/2023 at 7:42 PM, mjoeyoung said:

That is what I'm wondering.  Is it possible that the new investors who came into the market recently only buy 9.8s?  That might make them somewhat immune to the ups and downs of the lower grades if these investors stick around.

The term "9.8 craze" was thrown around here once or twice in 2020. There was one auction on HA - I think in the fall of 2020 - where I recall people rage posting around here 1000% convinced shenanigans were going on. If I recall that specific auction had a bunch of rando 9.8 issues just going for whacko level prices.

Anyway, I think even the 9.8s that sell relatively often like GSXM 1 have at least doubled FMV since pre pandemic. 

Edited March 20, 2023 by MGsimba77

[Microchip]

On 3/20/2023 at 12:40 PM, MGsimba77 said:

The term "9.8 craze" was thrown around here once or twice in 2020. There was one auction on HA - I think in the fall of 2020 - where I recall people rage posting around here 1000% convinced shenanigans were going on. If I recall that specific auction had a bunch of rando 9.8 issues just going for whacko level prices.

Anyway, I think even the 9.8s that sell relatively often like GSXM 1 have at least doubled FMV since pre pandemic. 

There was the recent collection coming to market with son trying to put a documentary together around the collection going to market, he had 10 CGC 9.8 GSXM 1's in the collection.

[KCOComics]

On 3/19/2023 at 9:52 PM, Microchip said:

There was the recent collection coming to market with son trying to put a documentary together around the collection going to market, he had 10 CGC 9.8 GSXM 1's in the collection.

Was that the one with the dad who's comic collecting obsession ruined the family? And there was a midgrade Superman 1 in the mix, if I'm not mistaken. 

 

Didn't realize he had multiples of high grade bronze. 

[Microchip]

On 3/20/2023 at 1:00 PM, KCOComics said:

Was that the one with the dad who's comic collecting obsession ruined the family? And there was a midgrade Superman 1 in the mix, if I'm not mistaken. 

 

Didn't realize he had multiples of high grade bronze. 

A comic shop owner for decades, now the son is trying to press the books for sale.   But 6+ pressers set up is still incredibly slow going, add in the fact that the guy is clueless on the cleaning protocols required for pressing.

Edited March 20, 2023 by Microchip

[Microchip]

On 3/20/2023 at 1:00 PM, KCOComics said:

Was that the one with the dad who's comic collecting obsession ruined the family? And there was a midgrade Superman 1 in the mix, if I'm not mistaken. 

 

Didn't realize he had multiples of high grade bronze. 

If it's the same guy, only the GSXM1 was deep in high grade.    No crystal ball explanation needed for collecting that book.

The rest of the books are in multiples.  

The scary bit was that he was going to press his Hulk 1 himself!  

[GrasshopperFF]

On 3/19/2023 at 10:26 PM, Microchip said:

If it's the same guy, only the GSXM1 was deep in high grade.    No crystal ball explanation needed for collecting that book.

The rest of the books are in multiples.  

The scary bit was that he was going to press his Hulk 1 himself!  

I want that book. Bad. 
 

[MAR1979]

On 3/19/2023 at 10:26 PM, Microchip said:

If it's the same guy, only the GSXM1 was deep in high grade.    No crystal ball explanation needed for collecting that book.

The rest of the books are in multiples.  

The scary bit was that he was going to press his Hulk 1 himself!  

Even with minimal or less experience, he should be able to press any book into a CGC .5